Nigerians are most likely to start paying more money to assess their meters, as the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) deregulates meter prices on the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) Scheme for end-user customers.
The MAP scheme allows electricity distribution companies to close the metering gaps in their franchise areas, by contacting a third party meter provider that supplies pre-paid meters to customers.
This disclosure was made on Monday, through a circular signed and issued by the NERC Chairman, Sanusi Garba and Commissioner of Legal, Licensing and Compliance, Dave Akpeneye. The new order will bring forth a competitive bidding process, which will take effect on May 1, permitting customers to choose from various authorized vendors, which will in turn, bring about a significant shift from the previously regulated pricing structure. This, they explained will help to enable end-use electricity customers to get meters from MAPs of their choice based on competitive open market prices.
The resultant effect is that customers paying CAP prices of N81,975.16 and N143,836.16 for single and three phase meters, will now pay more at a price dictated by the meter providers.
It further stated: ‘The cost of prices of meters deployed under the MAP scheme is hereby deregulated to enable end-use customers to acquire meters from MAPs of their choice based on competitive open market prices determined from transparent bidding frameworks.’
‘All MAP permit holders are subsequently eligible to provide services and transact for the provision of meters and metering services with any Disco in the Federal Republic of Nigeria with their existing permit.’
The Commission’s latest order connotes that every meter price within the MAP scheme will be decided through competitive bidding. By this, customers would have the mandate to ensure that smart meters provided by MAP are seamlessly integrated into their head-end systems data management systems.
They must also provide an online portal which is publicly accessible so as to display their technical specifications and commercial terms for MAP participation. This will help to maintain a standardized approach to meter installation and function across the board. Also, thorough testing and confirmation process for new meters has been outlined, even as distribution companies are required to complete these evaluations within 20 working days from when MAP meets all specified requirements. If there are meters that failed the confirmation test, they must be immediately reported to the MAP with details on the failure points. The deregulation of meter prices also introduces flexibility in the kinds of meters available under the MAP Scheme.
As NERC deregulates meter prices, they will supervise the submission of price offers from MAPs, so as to ensure fair competition. This includes MAPs requirement to hold at least 2000 units of meters as an eligibility criterion for participation in the bidding process.
End-use customers can now choose their preferred MAP and meter types which align with the particular energy needs. This will in turn stop distribution companies’ arbitrary billing of consumers and tackle the metering problems for millions of customers in the country.16:17
